- Enforcing jurisdiction
- Ireland · Geography does not establish applicable law.
- Confirmed applicable legislation
- Privacy topics
Meta Platforms, Inc. – €405,000,000 Fine (Ireland, 2022)
Privacy enforcement record
This record is classified outside cookie consent. Subject classification does not confirm an applicable law. It is not included in cookie statistics or the Risk Calculator.
Meta Platforms, Inc. was fined EUR 405 million for exposing personal information of minors on Instagram. The ruling is significant because it shows that companies can face serious consequences for failing to protect user data, especially for vulnerable groups like children. Businesses must prioritize user privacy to avoid hefty fines.
What happened
Meta displayed minors' phone numbers and email addresses publicly on Instagram business accounts.
Who was affected
Teenagers using Instagram whose personal information was publicly visible.
What the authority found
The Irish data protection authority ruled that Meta violated GDPR by not providing adequate protection for minors' personal data.
Why this matters
This ruling sets a strong precedent for holding tech companies accountable for data protection. Businesses must ensure they have robust privacy measures in place, especially when dealing with young users.
View original scraped data
Original imported citations before automated processing; the processing history does not establish independent verification.
Source checks
Linked-source text retrieved.
Automated check recorded — 4 March 2026.
No issues were reported by that automated check.
Retrieved text may be a secondary summary or an announcement. These automated statuses do not establish that the original decision was read or that the record received an independent legal review. How we check sources
The Irish DPA (DPC) has imposed a fine of EUR 405,000,000 on Meta Platforms, Inc. (Instagram). Following the investigation, the DPC submitted a draft decision under Art. 60 GDPR to other European supervisory authorities concerned. The initial draft proposed a fine of EUR 30-50 million. The DPC subsequently received objections from six supervisory authorities, which led to a dispute resolution procedure at the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) in Brussels. In its decision, the EDPB requested the DPC to increase the proposed fine. The DPC's investigation revealed that on Instagram business accounts of minors, their cell phone numbers and email addresses were publicly displayed. In addition, the settings for the underage users' accounts were set to 'public' by default , making their social media content publicly viewable unless they changed the account settings. The breach potentially affects millions of teenagers.
Related Enforcement Actions (0)
No other enforcement actions found for Meta Platforms, Inc. in IE
This is the only recorded action for this entity in this jurisdiction.
Details
Fine Date
5 September 2022
Authority
Data Protection Commission
Fine Amount
€405,000,000
Enforcement Tracker ID
ETid-1373
About this data
Cite as: Cookie Fines. Meta Platforms, Inc. - Ireland (2022). Retrieved from cookiefines.eu
Last updated: